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lights for night running? (Read 1718 times)


sincerely silly

    Cool I guess I shouldn't feel dorky once I get one then. :-) I ran with a glowstick today (I guess I wasn't actually joking...but I needed something today!) and I did feel safer.  Only bikers around but they can be careless too...I don't even run with headphones so I feel like it's their fault if they don't shout a warning and I don't know they're coming.

     

    Does running with a headlamp take a lot getting used to?  There were only a few small dark spots tonight but each time I managed to do something startling.  The random drain in on the paved trail was probably the craziest.  Who knows what hole I might've fallen into!

    shin splints are my nemesis


    Petco Run/Walk/Wag 5k

      I have an LL Bean cap with LED lights built in that I use on occasion but mostly run lighted streets so only turn it on when its dark area. I always wear a flasher. Found a $10 magnetic one at Lowe's, can't remember the name. I can clip it to the top back of my shirt which increases visibility. I've also used bike flashers clipped to my shorts.

      bob e v
      2014 goals: keep on running! Is there anything more than that?

      Complete the last 3 races in the Austin Distance Challenge, Rogue 30k, 3M Half, Austin Full

      Break the 1000 mi barrier!

      History: blessed heart attack 3/15/2008; c25k july 2008 first 5k 10/26/2008 on 62nd birthday.

      CHIDavid


        Don't worry about what people think of you.  I go with a Princeton Tech headlamp and a "blinky thing" as they are being called on one of my shoes.  That way, the blinking is really not  noticeable by me, but it sure is by the cars!


        Feeling the growl again

           

          Does running with a headlamp take a lot getting used to?  There were only a few small dark spots tonight but each time I managed to do something startling.  The random drain in on the paved trail was probably the craziest.  Who knows what hole I might've fallen into!

           

          The newer LED headlamps are very lightweight and frankly I can't say they change how I run much.  The only thing that takes getting used to is that, obviously, the light points where you look so you are more limited than usual with your head movement.

           

          I remember trying to run with an old 4 AA cell incandescent headlamp that I got when I was much younger....the thing was so heavy it would not even stay put on my head and, if it did, made my neck sore after awhile.

          "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

           

          I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

           

             Headlamp in front and bright blinky red LED in back.  The first time I ever saw a runner wearing one while approaching from behind in my car, I was a believer.  I could not miss him from half a mile away.

             

            I agree completely, a bright blinky LED is MUCH more effective than any of the reflective vests I have seen.  I don't know why the people that make the vests don't use the same reflective material that is used for the reflective elements on running gear, it's MUCH more noticeable.

             

            They had some REALLY bright LED blinkies in a rainbow of colors displayed in a blackout tent at the Boston expo last year.  Now that we are heading into the unending darkness, I really wish I bought one.

            E.J.
            Greater Lowell Road Runners
            Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

            May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

            RunAsics


            The Limping Jogger

              I have a red Firefly blinky, from RoadID, that clips on the back of my Pretzl Tikka+ headlamp.  The blinky weighs nothing and the battery seems to last forever.    I also have a Black Diamond Spot headlamp but I prefer the Tikka+.

              "Only a few more laps to go and then the action will begin, unless this is the action, which it is."

              ymmv


                Headlamps are great in the dark, early morning, close to Halloween. The woods have eyes! Bwaahaahaa! 

                Roxy27


                my little devil

                  I am going to start wearing my head lamp, here is a reason why you should too. This week I went out early in the morning when I couldn't see well, tripped on a rock and biffed, badly. My hands are a mess and i banged my knee into the ground.

                   

                  Not smart, not smart at all Sad

                  northernman


                  Fight The Future

                    Lately, I've been running at 5 in the morning on a pitch black bike trail. I started using this bright hand held LED light http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bayco-37-LED-Flashlight/14003471

                    and it's been great. The angle of the light coming out the side of the flashlight means I can hold it in my normal running relaxed fist without strain, and it shines directly on the path ahead. also, since it moves with my arms, it calls attention to any idiots running or biking on the path without any lights at all (no kidding, there are some). So far, no falls or trips at all. Also, was able to dodge a skunk due to early warning shadow

                      I started carrying a flashlight after almost kicking a skunk one night.  I'm currently using a Maglite Minimag LED with rechargeable batteries. 

                      Trent


                      Good Bad & The Monkey

                        Blinky things are good.

                         

                        Blinky things can attract and confuse drivers on small roads in the middle of the night, and can become targets for drunk yahoos.  I am not so sure I like them...


                        Prince of Fatness

                          Blinky things can attract and confuse drivers on small roads in the middle of the night, and can become targets for drunk yahoos.  I am not so sure I like them...

                           

                          True, but the yahoos are liable to hit you whether you are blinking or not.  So, why not blink for the non-yahoos?

                          Not at it at all. 


                          Feeling the growl again

                            Blinky things can attract and confuse drivers on small roads in the middle of the night, and can become targets for drunk yahoos.  I am not so sure I like them...

                             

                            Around here, over the last couple years, we have had a rash of drunks who were attracted to the bright flashy lights of cops pulled far off on wide shoulders.  Lots of crushed cruisers and injured cops.

                             

                            Nonetheless, I have had pretty good results running on backroads with bright flashy lights at night.  Of course, I was running at ~5-6am and the cops have been getting hit at ~2-3am...except the one where it was a drunk cop hitting innocent bystanders at ~10am.

                            "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                             

                            I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                             


                            Imminent Catastrophe

                              Black Diamond Sprinter headlamp. Bright, rechargable, blinky thing in back (you can switch it off if zombies or drunks are after you).

                              "Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

                               "To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

                              "The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

                               

                              √ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

                              Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

                              Western States 100 June 2016

                                I got a headlamp when I signed up for a night race sponsored by Energizer and started wearing it this fall. It doesn't stay on my head very well unless I wear a cap and in that case it pushes the cap down low in my eyes. But despite that, I wear it in the dark because i run on residential side streets and the street lamps don't light up the sidewalks very well so I feel more comfortable seeing the ground clearly. And I wear a blinky thing. Smile

                                Suffering Benefiting from mature onset exercise addiction and low aerobic endorphin release threshold. Hoping there is no cure.

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